Building construction



Nov. 5, 1940. w. A PLUME 2,220,349

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed OCT,- 3, 1959 Patented Nov. 5, 1940 Bonomo. coNs'raUo'rroN Walt A. Plumb, Pleasant Ridge, Mich., assignor The Truscon laboratories, a. corporation of Michigan Application October 3, 1939, Serial No. 297,731

7 Claims.

This invention relates to building construction and building units, and in particular to roof tile and like pre-cast elements formed of cementitious material employed in building construction. For the purpose of illustration, the invention is disclosed herein with particular reference to roof construction and roof tile, however, the invention may be employed in floor construction, wall construction and elsewhere in building structures as may be desired or required.

Heretofore, it has been customary to construct roofs and the like by rst Aerecting structural supports and spanning therebetween suitable structural building elements of pre-cast concrete or formed sheet metal, as for example, in roof construction, ilat pre-cast cement tile, channelshaped pre-cast cement tile and many forms of interlocking steel tile are employed as the structural decking. Over this decking it has been customary to place a layer of insulation material in the form of a iibrous cellular product, cork board or the like. i

The insulation of a structural roof is usually placed thereon in a separate operation, and, if placed during damp, rainy or snowy weather, the insulation generally does not have an opportunity to dry out prior to placing roofing thereover. Thus the material employed as insulation often becomes wet and retains moisture until after roong is placed thereover which causes the insulation to become quite ineffective and sometimes promotes decomposition thereof.

Fibrous cellular insulation is inherently sutilciently resilient and so easily compressible under concentratedloads that roofing placed thereover is readily dented and punctured causing leaks and water to accumulate in the insulation between the rooflng and structural roof decking employed. Also, cork .board and many other 40 bituminous bound insulation mediums are relatively resilient at relatively low temperatures, and, at summer roof temperatures, are sumciently compressible to permit rocng placed thereover to be easily dented and punctured.

By placing insulation over the structural roof tile and below the roofing, no acoustical benefits are obtained or are possible from the insulation employed. 'I'he expense of erecting insulation and acoustical boards on the under side of structural roof decking has been found to be so prohibitive that such construction, although often desired, is seldom if ever employed, particularly in industrial buildings.

With the foregoing in view, one object of the 55 invention is to provide an integral building element for roofs,` walls, iloors, and the like com' posed of a cementitious material having one side particularly adapted for exposure to noise which is relatively soft and porous and of a sound absorbing and insulating nature and the other side relatively hard and dense, the said hard dense portion being suitably reinforced whereby to make the building element structurally effective Vfor resisting i'lexural stresses.

Another objectof the invention is to provide lo a structural reinforced cementitious roof tile or the like which carries integral therewith a relatively soft porous cementitlous insulating and sound deadening medium which, when erected l with the insulating and sound deadening medium 5 exposed within a structure provides eifective insulation and acoustical treatment at economy heretofore impossible.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel unitary cementltious building element for roofs, walls, oors and the like capable of serving the combined functions of a structural element, an insulation medium and an acoustical treatment, and to provide a simple, effective and economical method of manufacturing the same.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent by reference to the following detailed description taken in connection withl the. accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a roof 3 constructed in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of the roof tile disclosed in Fig. 1 shown supported on a roof purlin.

Fig. 3 is 'a longitudinal sectiomn view of a roof 35 Y constructed in accordance with the invention similar in every respect to the construction disclosed in Fig. 1 except that the roof 'tile employed the notches across the ends of the tile are 60 omitted.

Fig. 5A is a longitudinal sectional view of a iloor construction similar to the roof construction .disclosed in Fig. 5 except that a cement door nish is applied over the iloor tile, the completed floor construction having structural, insulation, acoustic and wearing qualities.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of the tile disclosed in Figs. and

Y 5 5A shown supported on a purlin or floor beam.

Fig. 7 is a greatly enlarged cross sectional view of a tile or other building element embodying the invention illustrating the preferred method of manufacturing the same.

10 Referring now to the drawing wherein like numerals refer to like and corresponding parts throughout the several views, Fig. 1 shows roof construction embodying the invention wherein roof tile I0 is supported on purlins I I and has roofing I2 placed thereover. The roof tile I0 disclosed in Figs. 1 and 2 is constructed of a structural slab I3 of Portland cement or like cementitious material and a suitable aggregate reinforcedwith steel rods or mesh I4, and a lower layer I5 of cementitious insulation of a sound deadening nature formed integral with the said structural slab I3 on the bottom thereof; the,

said cementitious insulation layer I5 preferably comprising a mixture of cement and expanded or exfoliated vermiculite or like micaceous mineral substance mixed in the proportions of l part cement to 3 to 12 parts of exfoliated vermiculite. It has been found that a mix of 1 part of cement to 7 parts of exfoliated vermiculite gives excellent results in binding the vermiculite together and -to the structural slab I3 and at the same time provides a cellular relatively soft and por-l ous insulating'medium of a sound absorbing nature.

It is important to note that .the cellular insulating and sound deadening medium I5 formed of cement and exfoliated vermiculite not only has the properties of being relatively soft and porous and contains a large percentage of air 40 cells and voids, but it has sufficient strength to maintain its shape during shipping, erection and handling. The said insulating and sound deadening medium I5 is capable of supporting reasonably uniformly distributed loads as evidenced by its use in floor construction as hereinafter described.

When the roof tile I0 is erected with its insulation and sound deadening face down and with the roofing I2 thereover as shown in Fig. 1, the

integral cementitious insulating and sound deadening layer I5 is preferably held back a sufficient distance from the end to permit the structural slab I3 of the said roof tile I0 to bear on the purlins II.

'I'he roof construction and the roof tile |00 disclosed in Figs. 3 and 4 is precisely the same as the roof lconstruction and the roof tile I0 disclosed in Figs. 1 and 2 except' that the integral cementitious insulating and sound deadening layer I5 is held ba'ck from the ends of the said roof tile |00 and a bearing block I6 is cast transversely across each end thereof to provide a solid bearing means for the said tile |00 is erected with the insulation and sound deadening side down. The bearing blocks I6 are preferably used under heavy loads and on long spans and when it is preferred not to employ notched ends-on the tile. i

'Ihe roof construction and tile I 000 disclosed in Figs. 5 and 6 is similar to the roof construction and tile disclosed in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive except that the integral cementitious and sound deadening layer I5 is formed on top of the structural slab I3 and extends the full length of the tile and that the tile |000 is erected with tile.

the insulation side up with the roofing I2 placed thereover. The construction disclosed in Figs.

5 and 6, although not generally preferred, does have high insulating qualities and possesses the ability to prevent sound from coming through, 5 the tile |000.

However, inasmuch as the novel tile herein disclosed may be used for floors and the like, Fig. 5A discloses a floor constructed employing a tile |000 having a 1 or 11/2" cement finish placed 10 thereover after erection rather than the roofing I2 and is found to be extremely satisfactory from an acoustical standpoint since the noise of traffic thereover will not readily travel through the In Fig. 5A the numeral IIO represents a 15 oor beam. The floor construction disclosed in Fig. 5A is not only valuable from an acoustic and insulation standpoint but is, as is the roof construction disclosed in Figs. 1, 3fand 5, vermin proof and much more economical than the usual construction now employed generally comprising first laying a structural slab, embedding wood sleepers therein, and then laying a rough and finished wood floor thereover and nailing the said wood floor tothe sleepers. l 25 Building elements embodying the invention are preferably manufactured in a particular and novel manner to obtain a hard, dense structural slab I3 of Portland cement or like cementitious material and a suitable aggregate having a layer I5 of cementitious linsulation integral therewith which is reasonably strong and non-compressible and yet of sufficient softness and porosity to serve as an acoustical or sound deadening medium as well as an insulation. 35

Fig. 7 shows a typical cross section through a metal form 20 composed of a bottom 2| preferably having reinforcing slats 22 welded thereto, sides 23 hinged to the bottom 2| by means of suitable hinges 24, and ends, not shown, which 40 are similar to the sides 23. The metal form 20 may be supported on a wood platform or the like 25 which is preferably adaptedv to be vibrated in the direction indicated by the double headed arrow 26. 45

In producing building elements embodying the invention, the metal form 20 is first filled to or slightly above the line X in Fig. I with a suitable mixtude of Portland cement and aggregate, for example, 1 part cement to 41/2 parts of aggre- 50 gate. The mix is struckof at or slightly above the dot and dash line X and reinforcing mesh I4 is then puddled into the mix to the position indicated in Fig. 7. The form 20 is then vibrated sumciently to densify and make substantially 55 voidless the structural slab I3 of the building element" being cast. After vibrating to maxi` mum density and before the any substantial initial setting of the cement in the structural slab I3 takes place, an insulating and sound deaden- 60 ing layer I5 preferably composed of a mix of 1 part Portland cement to 7 parts of expanded or exfoliated vermiculite or like micaceous mineral substance is poured over the said structural slab I3 and struck off level with the.top of the form 65 20. The height of the form 20 is preferably slightly greater than the desired thickness of the finished product to allow for shrinkage. Although not essential, after applying the layer I5 of* cement-vermiculite mix, the form 20 may again be vibrated for 5 or"10 seconds to assure a perfect bond between the insulating and sound deadening layer I5 and the structural slab I3. The building element is then allowed to take its initial set and, as soon as hardness permits, it 75 is removed from the form 20 and either air or steam cured in accordance with general practice.

Because of the insulating qualities of the insulating and sound deadening layer I5 of a porous cement-exfoliated vermiculite mix which hardens integral with the structural slab I3 of a dense cement-aggregate mix, the reinforcement I4 of the said structural slab I3 may be brought closer to the surface of the structural slab I3 in the embodiments of the invention wherein the insulating and sound deadening layer I5 is juxtaposed to the reinforcement of the structural slab, see Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7 whereupon the exural couple between the reinforcement and the cementitious mix of the structural slab I3 in the said structural slab I3 is lengthened which provides a greater resistance to exural stresses. Therefore, in addition to providing a building element consisting of an integral cementitious structural slab and layer of an insulation and sound deadening nature, the structural economies combined with vermin proof sound deadening and insulation characteristics makes the invention susceptible to novel and economical usages not heretofore conceived as possiblein the art.

Although several embodiments and usages of the invention have been disclosed and described in detail, and although but one method of manufacturing the novel building units has been disclosed, it is obvious that many changes in the size,

shape, arrangement, detail of the building unitsand the method of manufacturing the same may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention other than by the terms of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A unitary pre-'cast structural building elemeht composed of a dense, hard cement-aggregate structural slab and an integral cement-exfoliated vermiculite layer which is relatively soft and porous and of a sound absorbing naturecapable of serving as an insulation as well as a sound deadening medium, and reinforcement in and conned to said cement-aggregate slab whereby to make the element structurally effective for resisting exural stresses.

2. A unitary pre-cast structural building element composed of a dense, hard cement-aggregate structural slab, a cement-exfoliated vermiculite layer of 1 part Portland cement to 7. parts of exfoliated vermiculite formed integral with said structural slab, and reinforcement in'and confined tovsaid cement-aggregate slab whereby to make the element structurally effective for resisting flexural strees.

3. A unitary pre-cast structural building'element composed of a dense, hard cement-aggresate structural slab. a cement-exfoliated vermiculite layer of 1 part Portland cement to 3 to 12 parts of exfoliated vermiculite formedv integral with said structural slab, and reinforcement in and coniined to said cement-aggregate slab whereby to make the element structurally effective for resisting flexural stresses.

4. In a building structure, a plurality of unitary pre-cast structural building elements for enclosing the same composed of a cementitious material having its portion exposed within the structure soft and porous and of a sound absorbingnature and its portion disposed toward without the structure dense and hard, and reinforcement in and conned to said dense hard portion whereby to vmake the element structurally eilective for resisting ilextural stresses. i

5. In. a building structure, a plurality of unitary pre-cast structural building elements for enclosing the same composed of a dense, hard cementaggregate structural slab disposed toward without the structure and an integralcement-exfoliated vermiculite layer which is relatively soft and porous and of a sound absorbing nature capable of serving as an insulation as well as a sound deadening medium exposed within the structure, and reinforcement in and conned to said cement-aggregate slab whereby to make the element structurally effective for resisting exural stresses.

6. The method of manufacturing unitary precast structural building elements of theclass described comprising the steps of 'preparing a cement-aggregate mix, pouring the cement-aggregate mix in a form and striking oif .the same at the desired level, densl'fying vthe said cement-aggregate mix by vigorously vibrating the same after pouring, preparing a cement-exfoliated vermiculite mix, pouring the said cement-exfoliated vermiculite mix in the said form to the desired thickness over the said densied cement-aggregate mix prior to the completion of the initial set of the said densied cement-aggregate mix, and then allowing said building element to harden.

'7. The method of manufacturing unitary precast structural building elements of the class described comprising the steps of preparing a cement-aggregate mix, pouring the cement-aggregate mix in a form and striking oi the same at the desired level, densifying the said cement-aggregate mix by vigorously vibrating the same after pouring, preparing a cement-exfoliated vermiculite mix, pouring the said ment-exfoliated vermiculite mix in the said form to the desired thickness over said densied cement-aggregate mix prior to the completion of the initial set of the said densifled cement-aggregate mix, vibrating the cement-aggregate mix and the cementexfoliated mix whereby to assure a perfect bond therebetween, and then allowing said building element to harden..

WALT A. PLUMB. 

